GI Plastek, Precision Southeast Inc., and Plastics Solutions, Inc. have merged to form PSI Molded Plastics. The three sister injection molding companies are all owned by Gladstone Investment. With the merger, each of the companies can now share their distinct areas of expertise throughout the organization. The merger expands the company’s presence into a variety of markets, including healthcare and diagnostics. Citizens Bank assisted with the financing of the merger.

Phillips-Medisize, a Molex company, has announced an initial investment to expand the capabilities of its 380,000 sq ft Molex Little Rock facility to include an FDA registered manufacturing Center of Excellence for Connected Health and Drug-Delivery Devices.

Proto Labs has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held company Rapid Manufacturing Group. Rapid is a New Hampshire-based custom parts supplier specializing in quick-turn sheet metal fabrication and CNC machining. With the acquisition, Proto Labs says it will be able to offer its customers another quick-turn manufacturing service while expanding its CNC machining capabilities.

Scientists use the term 4D printing to refer to the simple production of objects that can transform their shape at different times. Researchers have now taken this approach a major step further by developing a construction principle that can produce load-bearing and predictable structures.

Combining speed with incredible precision, a team of researchers has developed a way to print a nanoscale imaging probe onto the tip of a glass fiber as thin as a human hair, accelerating the production of the promising new device from several per month to several per day.

Scientists have demonstrated the synthesis of transparent glass through 3D printing, a development that could ultimately lead to altering the design and structure of lasers and other devices that incorporate optics. The technique enables glass structures and composition gradients previously impossible through conventional manufacturing processes.

Frequently used as a design validation and prototyping tool in its early days, the 3D printer now supports a much wider range of applications, from shape-conforming electronics to the creation of printed living tissue. Tech Briefs spoke with industry expert Terry Wohlers about 3D printing's emerging possibilities.

A research team has developed a system for custom designing a variety of 3D printed objects with multiple materials. They say the system could be used for practical applications in the medical field such as creating high-quality replicas of objects like bones for surgeons to practice on or for developing more comfortable dentures and other products that would benefit from having both soft and rigid components.

Researchers have demonstrated how Microsoft’s HoloLens technology can be used for guiding robots to assist with assembly. Examples of the group’s augmented reality (AR) projects include delivering instructions in the workplace using tablets and wearable technology and using projection technology to show exactly where components need to be fixed.

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Bump or Tapered Tubing

Microspec has extruded bump tubing since 1990 and is recognized as an industry leader in multi-lumen bump extrusions. Bump extrusion technology has enabled designers to shrink distal dimensions while maximizing the functionality at the proximal end. Microspec led the industry with its development and introduction of micro multi-lumen bump extrusions.

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Christopher Scott

To find out more about the expertise that Eurofins brings to this area, and the company's plans for expansion into the United States, Medical Device Briefs recently spoke with Christopher Scott, vice president of Eurofins Medical Device Testing.